When people get in the way (things work out a little bit better)
by FrancescaBoscorelli
Summary: Jess picks up a conversation between two of Becker's soldiers and she gets the wrong idea of things. One of them had to intervene to make things better. Jess/Becker.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: my second Primeval fic yay! okay so this was supposed to be a one chapter thing but now its a three chapter thing. I hope you like this one! Don't forget to review.**

**Also Smith and Jefferson are mine.**

**SUPER hugs to my beta A.J. Thank you daaarling!**

**Fran**

* * *

When at the lockers soldiers usually talked, made jokes, comments about the creatures, some of them often complained about the weirdness of their jobs but that was about it.

Then the other sorts of comments Becker heard he decided to ignore, when it came to girls and dates he pretended he didn't really hear anything since he had nothing to share.  
Then there had been one of them who brought the delicate subject up, he could have laughed if it wasn't because he had been genuinely shocked and pissed.

"Hey Becker what's the name of that candies you're always eating? Those colorful stuff." The man innocently asked.

"Skittles?" Becker responded, not entirely sure what the conversation was about.

"That's it! She looks like an enormous bag of skittles" the man laughed and so did the rest of the team surrounding him.

"Who looks like a bag of skittles?" Becker asked again, frowning at the joke he didn't seem to comprehend.

"Parker, who else?"

He heard laughter, loud and clear. His heart tight with anger, hands turning into fists at his sides. He wanted to hit him to be honest, but he couldn't just go around punching people because th

ey were making fun…of the woman he came to love.

He could find other ways to avenge her.

"Hey guys, come on knock it out okay?" He snapped, though his men decided to ignore him and continue joking about Jess. Just a few of them, the others remained silent for their own sake.

"The woman wears so many colors it looks like someone puked a rainbow on her." The men continued again, still laughing.

Then he laughed without saying a word. He was pissed, furious, and he wasn't himself when he felt like that. It was better for him and for his mates to storm out. The last thing he needed was for his men to know he had a soft spot for the field coordinator.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jess cheerfully walked away from her position in front of the computer and towards the locker room where Becker was supposed to be waiting for her to have lunch.

After the beetle incident they spent more and more time together, either having lunch or just talking. She didn't know what they had; she wasn't sure if they were just friend or if he was looking for something more. All she knew was that she treasured every minute of it, eager for their moments alone to come back.

She wasn't ready though, not to hear those words coming from one of Becker's soldiers. They were sharing a private conversation, she didn't mean to eavesdrop but she couldn't help it when she heard her name. Smith, a new soldier who arrived no long than two months ago, was talking amusingly with Jefferson, a not so new officer whom she had seen hanging around the ARC fascinated with every little thing he saw.

She had picked up the conversation when she was meaning to walk away, unable to help herself. The minute her name was mentioned along with Becker's she immediately regretted her decision.

"What did Captain call her?" Jefferson asked, Smith hesitated for a second before responding.

"A big bag of skittles" Smith spoke, followed by a wave of laughter. "Jessica Parker is a bag of skittles and she looks as if someone puked a rainbow on her."

Her heart stopped. This time for an entire different reason. It wasn't Becker's smile, it wasn't the way he always seemed to find an excuse to touch her arm or hold her hand, it wasn't the way he whispered in her ear when they were standing insanely close. Not this time. It had been his words, the way he described her, the way he spoke about her with his men. It was as if he was making a mockery of everything she was and it hurt in ways she could never possibly describe.

She was used to hearing people making fun of her, of her shoes, her skirts or even her hair, and she usually didn't care. But the man who had said those words was the man she adored, the man she loved with all her heart and soul. The man she thought would never hurt her.

**TBC**

**Love it, hate it? let me know. **


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: thank you for reading and reviewing! you guise are the best. **_

_**Fran**_

* * *

She had walked away after listening to those men talking. She had locked herself in the ladies room and cried until she had no tears left and then proceed to focus on her work and ignore the pang of pain that hit her every time someone mentioned Becker's name.

The best choice she had, no matter how hard it was, was to ignore him. As childish as it might seem, because no matter how hard she tried she couldn't stop picturing him laughing and making fun of her and the hurt returned and so did the tears.

"Jess"

She heard his voice calling her name but refused to spin her chair when he came to stand next to her like she usually did, or even flash a tender smile at him. Even if she was so tempted to do so right now.

"Hey, is there something wrong?" He asked, frowning slightly at her and the way she seemed to ignore him.

"No, I'm just busy" she spoke, typing something on her keyboard just to keep her mind occupied.

"Are you coming for lunch?" He asked, stepping a few inches closer to her. She unconsciously took a deep breath when he moved towards her.

"No, sorry. Maybe you should go alone, I have a lot of things to do." She could feel his eyes on her and the confused look adorning his handsome face.

"Are you okay, Jess?" He asked again, trying to make sure he had heard right; there was something different in the way she spoke and it was confusing him.

"Yes, I'm okay," she spoke still without turning her face to look at him, "Do you mind? I have lots of work to do."

"Oh…yeah, sure. Sorry to bother you"

He stood a good five minutes watching her, trying to process the fact that she had just kicked him out of her space, even if rather politely. He was still hoping she would turn around, flash a smile at him and tell him they would catch up later. She didn't. When he finally decided to walk away, he turned briefly towards her but she had ignored him once more.

Something wasn't right…

* * *

By the time she arrived home she was too sad and exhausted to eat anything; she should have been hungry since she had skipped lunch to avoid Becker, but she wasn't. All she really truly wanted was to crawl into her bed and stay there for days.

"You're home," Abby spoke walking out of her room and into the living room to sit next to Jess on the couch. She frowned at her roommate, noticing the lack of enthusiasm immediately, "Is everything alright?"

"Yes. I'm tired, that's all" Jess told her.

"Are you sure? Because you look more sad than tired," Abby stated, glancing at her.

"I just…didn't have a very nice day," she confessed.

"Did you have a fight with Becker? I caught him sitting in the locker room alone, he looked sort of confused and troubled."

She stared into space, looking for something in her mind that could distract her from picturing him alone but she failed miserably. He was in her head before she could stop it. Abby watched as her friend struggled with whatever she had in her head, waiting for her to open up to her for her own sake. Jess was not the type of girl who looked sad, she was always smiling no matter how bad the day had been, but today cheerful Jess seemed to have gone out of the window.

"What happened?" Abby asked finally, as Jess had refused to talk. "Did you argue?"

"You could say that…" Jess whispered, staring down at her hands.

"You know you can tell me everything, right? I am your friend, you can trust me."

She gave her a warm smile before telling her everything. The soldiers, their conversation, what she had heard, and what Becker had said. Abby stared at her for five whole seconds, her eyes wide open in disbelief.

"That's what he said?" Abby asked her, too shocked to say anything else.

"Pretty much."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Abby, I'm sure my hearing is fine and the soldier wouldn't lie about something like this."

"I'm sure they wouldn't, but you know Becker. He would never say something like that…"

"But he did, Abby! He made fun of me with his friends, and he broke my heart…" Jess cried, tears slowly running down her cheeks.

"Did you ask him? Did you talk to him?"

"No…I won't. I don't want to, I don't want to see him."

"Jess, I know you're hurting and you're sad, but at least give him a chance to explain himself."

Maybe she should, maybe she would let him talk and then soon she would realize all had been a nightmare. Or maybe he would say yes to all of it and proceed to tell her he would never date such a colorful, rainbow looking woman.

* * *

Becker was confused. No, scratch that, he was going out of his mind. First it had been Jess who had been ignoring him and making up excuses not to spend time together ('I'm busy' 'I'm having lunch with Abby' 'a friend is coming for a visit') for God knows why, then it had been Abby, who although didn't look mad, was staring at him differently.  
Something must have happened that he wasn't aware of, or maybe he woke up in a different dimension when the woman of his life hated him. Either way it was killing him.

"Abby, can I talk to you for a minute?" He called his friend, hoping she could explain what was going on.

"What?" She wasn't harsh nor rude, she was just colder, and all of her attitude was driving him insane.

"Did something happen that I'm not aware of?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Jess has been avoiding me, and she's more upset, rather than pleased, to see me. As if I did something terrible, but I have no idea what it is."

"I think you do," Abby snapped. Becker did a double take at how angry she looked. "You know exactly what you said!"

"Said about what? Abby, I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"The bag of skittles? Jess looking like a rainbow? Surely now you do remember?"

"I never said that!" Becker responded quickly, staring at his friend in incredulity.

"Becker, Jess heard your soldiers talking about it. She knows."

He turned his head to watch Jess typing something on her keyboard, staring at the screen before her. Suddenly it hit him how much he missed her.

"I have no idea what you're saying," he said again.

"Smith and Jefferson were talking about it in the locker room when Jess heard them laughing about it." Abby did what he had done before, stared at her friend and then turned her head back towards him. "She's heartbroken."

"Abby you know me better than this. You know the last thing I want is for her to get hurt, especially if I'm responsible."

"Then what happened? Why did your men say something like that?" Now it was Abby's turn to be confused.

"I have no idea, but I will figure it out!"

Before Abby could stop him he had stormed out quickly, marching towards the locker room.  
She now feared for what was about to happen.

* * *

They were laughing, his men were laughing and he imagined it was because of that joke and suddenly his anger rose. Jess hated him because of them, she had stopped staring at him and sharing moments with him because his men decided it could be fun to make jokes about her. He wanted to kick every single one of them in the ass, or probably shoot them with an EMD.

"Smith, Jefferson," he spoke. Both men quickly turned to his direction and stopped laughing when they saw his expression. "The rest, out."

Nobody moved, they stood frozen in their spots and Becker was suddenly tempted to pull out his gun and shoot just to make a point. "All of you out now!"  
They did as he said, quickly. Smith was the first one to move, he stood with his hands behind his back facing Becker. Jefferson, maybe purely out of fear at his Captain's anger, did the same.

"Can any one of you explain to me the 'bag of skittles' thing?" Becker asked.

Both men looked at each other but neither spoke. He moved closer, which made them stand up straight, facing a random spot behind Becker's head.

"If you don't explain to me what the hell happened I will make sure both of you never leave for a mission in your lives."

"It was a joke, sir," Smith spoke softly, still standing stiffly. "You were here, remember?"

"Did I make it?" Becker asked.

"No, sir."

"Did I force anyone to make it?"

"No, sir."

"Then why does Jessica think it had been created by me?"

The soldiers exchanged confused looks for a brief second before turning their heads towards Becker.

"We don't know, sir," Smith spoke again.

"Did you tell her?" Becker asked him.

"No, sir."

"Or you?" He asked Jefferson, who was unable to speak and only shook his head. "Then how?"

"It must have been a big misunderstanding, sir."

"You think so? Because the woman I lo…" He stopped mid sentence, turning his face away so his soldiers could not see the blush slowly creeping into his cheeks. He swallowed and began pacing around the room slowly. "Because Miss Parker believes I made fun of her and laughed at her and she refuses to speak and look at me. Something I'm having trouble understanding since the last thing I would do is to make fun of a lady."

"Sir I can speak to her if you wish," Smith offered. Becker smiled kindly at his soldier and shook his head.

"No, I will," Becker responded. "It's better if she hears an apology from me. The least I can do is explain what really happened."

He stood in silence, both men staring at their Captain for a brief second. Smith truly felt bad about it, they should have let the joke go instead of talking about constantly, or they shouldn't have made a joke about Miss Parker at all, especially knowing Captain Becker had a soft spot for her. Some said they were just good friends, some said she was crazy about him and had been for a while, but he knew it wasn't just a crush, they were in love but they were also too stubborn to do something about it.

* * *

He wasn't the type of man who followed instructions. He hated to be told what to do even though he was a soldier and he was supposed to play by the boss' rules. When Becker had told him he was going to 'do something about it' he thought he was actually going to. Then he saw him standing a few feet away from Miss Parker, watching her like a stalker, and he knew that the Captain was probably at a loss for words.

So when he told him to stay away, he didn't.

"Miss Parker," he called her name, taking advantage of the solitude surrounding her. They had never really spoken, only a few words here and there, but she was a great woman and most of the soldiers adored her. She made Captain Becker smile and when that happened ,everything went easier on them. They were truly grateful.

"Smith." She flashed a warm smile as she slowly spun her chair towards him.

"I was wondering if we could have a word?" He asked her.

"Sure. What about?"

"About the conversation you heard between me and Jefferson," He spoke quickly. "Miss Maitland said you have heard something, an exchange between me and my friend about a joke that has been made. I feel like I need to explain myself."

The minute he exposed the subject of their conversation he noticed the change in her demeanor. The smile to which she had greeted him with had disappeared quickly and was replaced by sadness.

"I…I'd rather not talk about if you don't mind," she whispered, looking down at her hands.

"I do mind. Ma'am, that was huge misunderstanding. Captain Becker would never say anything like that about you, ever. He loves too much…"

She suddenly, and rather quickly, snapped her head towards him. Her eyes were wide open and mouth slightly ajar.

"Wait, what did you just say?" She asked her voice turning into a whisper.

"That he would never…"

"No. The last part." She told him, her eyes watering slowly.

He was starting to think talking to her had been a bad idea after all. "…He loves you, a lot," he spoke. There was no point in pretending he hadn't said what he had said.

"Oh my god," she whispered, her hands flying towards her chest while tears ran down her face. She was smiling, which was weird considering she was crying.

"You didn't know about this, did you?"

"No…"

"Okay, he's gonna hate me for sure now."

"No, no Smith, thank you. Thank you so much!" she smiled and this time he smiled back.

"Oh, okay.".

"I gotta go." She bounced out of her chair, practically running towards the locker room. Smith watched her leave and couldn't help but smile.

If she was smiling and looked happy, he couldn't have done anything wrong, right?

**TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: You guys I love you so much. Thank you for following and reviewing, you guise are THE BEST! **_

_**This is the last chapter, I hope you like this one!  
**_

_**Fran**_

* * *

She shivered, palms sweaty, heart beating uncontrollably fast inside her chest. He loved her. Smith just said Becker lover her and all along she had been wondering if he felt something for her. It was right under her noses, love was right there.

She took tentative steps towards the locker room. She knew Becker was still there because she had taken a close look at the parking lot and his motor was still there.

Then she saw him; sitting on a bench in front of his locker, face down looking at the floor beneath him. He was so engrossed in whatever he was thinking that he didn't notice her presence.

Before she could move his head snapped towards her and he immediately bounced off his chair.

"Jess…" He spoke, taking a few steps towards her. "Hey…I was, I was actually going to find you…"

"What for?"

"I wanted to talk to you about what happened, Abby told me about the joke." He spoke softly. Jess had taken a few steps closer while he spoke, her heart beating faster and faster with every step she took. "I promise you I don't have anything to do with…"

"I know. Smith told me everything," she interrupted.

"Smith," Becker sighed, shaking his head and rubbing his temple, "he's really not good at following instructions."

"He told me about everything, and whatever happened was entirely my fault. I thought you…"

"I would never make fun of you, Jess," he spoke truthfully, moving a few steps towards her with only inches separating them.

"I know, it was stupid of me to believe you would," she whispered, her blue eyes glued to his. Suddenly her cheeks turned a slight shade of pink as her brain immediately replayed Smith's words. 'He loves you too much…' She could ignore them because it might have been just a rumor but she was certain Smith was not a liar, and he wouldn't just play with her feelings knowing what she felt for Becker. So she took the risk, her mouth speaking the words before her brain could even process it. "He also said you would never hurt me because…because, you love me."

He watched her with eyes open as wide as two plates, he swallowed and shifted his weight from one foot to the other nervously.

"He said that, huh?" He spoke.

"Is he a liar?" She asked him, eager to hear something from him. A sign or anything that told her whether she should completely forget about him and move on or accept and deal with the fact that he loved her too.

"No…he's not," he finally spoke, closing the remaining space between them. Their bodies were so close she thought she could hear his heartbeat.

"You love me?" She asked in a whisper.

"More than words can possibly say." He really wasn't the romantic type of man; he couldn't actually recall the last time he had said 'I love you' to someone, no less a woman, which meant that everything he was saying right now was the complete truth. He loved her and there was no denying it.

"You…you have no idea for how long I've dreamed of this," she sobbed, his hands slowly and tenderly caressing her flushed cheek. She leaned in, feeling the warmth of his hand upon her skin.

"I'm sorry it took a misunderstanding and us being apart for me to tell you this." His eyes traveled from her eyes to her lips, his hand still lingered on her cheek and when she licked her lips slowly he knew there was no point in denying all he wanted to do was kiss her, and her eyes told him the same.

He moved forward, his lips barely brushing hers waiting for a sign he was doing things right. She didn't push him away, instead she moved closer towards his body, pressing her lips harder against his. His hands immediately moved slowly towards her waist, holding her, which she was grateful for since her knees were going to give up on her any minute.

She moaned at the back of her throat, because his lips just fit perfectly upon hers and his body felt so warm against her. He was making her feel wonderful things with only their first kiss, and she was amazed.  
They pulled apart, briefly. His eyes locked on hers, darker with lust and desire. She was afraid if they didn't stop this instant they could end up doing something she had dreamed of for months, but it wasn't the right place or the right time. She sighed heavily; her hands came to rest upon his chest, feeling the rapid beating of his heart beneath her palm.

"I think you should take me out on a proper date before we can continue this any further," she whispered, her hand still on his chest, this time playing leisurely with the buttons of his shirt.

"Then let's go." He held her hand upon his chest, not letting it go. "Go out with me."

"Now?"

"Yes, now. I mean not exactly now, after work. Let's go for a cup of coffee or a drink or dinner, whatever you want."

"Someone might think you're just desperate to kiss me."

He moved his head towards her again, his lips once more brushing against hers, barely just barely.

"Who said I wasn't?"

Then he kissed her again with the same amount of passion as the first kiss and they remained wrapped in each other's arms for a few minutes…until the alarm calling for an anomaly rang and they had to spread apart.

They would have time for kisses and embraces later.

* * *

**3 weeks later.**

He stormed towards the lockers, where the voices came, just in time to find a few of his soldiers getting ready for another day. They stopped talking the minute he stood in the door, watching them with a serious expression on his face.

"Glad you're all in here. Gives me the opportunity to address an issue with all of you," Becker spoke, taking slow steps to stand in front of his team. "Three weeks ago there was an incident, a joke that had been made by several people from this room that offended a very important member of this team. Now, I don't need to say who this person was nor do I need to explain how this can and will never happen. If anyone addresses her that way again, they will be punished."

The soldiers before him exchanged looks, he could tell they knew who he was talking about but still two of them smiled to each other which made the anger flow.

"Hey! Do you think this is funny?" Becker asked the smiling men.

"No, sir," one of them answered.

"Does it look like I'm joking?"

"No, sir."

He took another step, this time he was facing the men closely. They froze in their spots, hands behind their backs.

"If I hear anyone making a joke or even a small comment about MY girlfriend's outfit or even her hair, I will personally make sure you will regret even thinking about her. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir," both men answered quickly.

"Now leave."

The rest of the soldiers left quickly as they were told, none of them hesitated, not even for a second, too afraid Becker might snap at them as well. Jess Parker had become a very delicate subject.

"Smith, stay."

The man in question turned around slowly, fear written on his face.

"Sir?"

"I was told you spoke with Miss Parker?" Becker asked, Smith just nodded in silence. "You spoke to her even though I asked you not to?"

"Sir, I…"

"I guess I should thank you then."

"You—what?" Smith's eyes opened wide, he was no longer scared but utterly confused.

"If it hadn't been for you, for doing exactly what I asked you not to, I would never be as happy as I am right now. So, I guess I should thank you."

"I…you're welcome, sir," Smith said, smiling widely at his Captain. "I'm glad you found your happiness, sir."

"Yes, I did." Becker smiled back. "But next time just do as I tell you, okay? It's an order."

"Yes, sir."

"Good. You can go now."

Smith smiled at his Captain one last time before walking away. Surely he wasn't the type of man who would get into anyone's business, especially personal issues, but now for the first time he was happy to do so.

**THE END!**


End file.
